Minuteman III Launch Scheduled

Vandenberg AFB News Release

2005 September 12

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.  An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental
ballistic missile is scheduled to launch from North Vandenberg Wednesday
morning. The six-hour launch window is from 1:01 to 7:01 a.m. PST*. The mission
tests the reliability and accuracy of the weapon system.

The launch is a team effort by members of the 30th Space Wing and the 576th
Flight Test Squadron here and the 91st Space Wing from Minot AFB, N.D. The task
force from the 91st SW, led by Capt. Carl Bottolfson, will launch the missile
under the direction of the 576th FLTS. Capt. Rasheem Wright, 576th FLTS, is the
launch director. The 576th FLTS falls under the 595th Space Group which reports
to the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.

Members of the 576th FLTS performed maintenance activities to include missile
emplacement and installation of unique missile tracking, telemetry and command destruct systems to collect test data and meet safety requirements.

The missiles unarmed re-entry vehicle is expected to travel approximately
4,200 miles in about 30 minutes, hitting a pre-determined target at the Ronald
Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the western chain of the Marshall
Islands.

Designated Glory Trip 189GM, this operational test launch continues a long
history of Western Range launches used to verify, validate and improve the
capability of the nations ICBM force--a key component to continued global
stability.